Trevor Lawrence reacts to Jaguars firing Doug Pederson

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence missed the season’s final five games after he was shut down so he could undergo shoulder surgery and, thus, couldn’t prevent the firing of head coach Doug Pederson from happening after Week 18. 

Lawrence spoke with media members on Thursday and hinted he and others in the locker room let Pederson down.

“You understand it’s part of the business, but you’re also disappointed and
you feel some responsibility because as a player you have impact on the game. It’s on us as well,” Lawrence explained, Sports Illustrated’s Tom Dierberger shared. “It’s unfortunate, is the best way to put it, just because you feel like you wish you could’ve done more and won more games.”

Pederson initially seemed somewhat of a savior for Lawrence, the first overall pick of the 2021 draft who endured a rocky rookie season during Urban Meyer’s brief tenure as Jacksonville’s coach. Pederson and Lawrence guided the 2022 Jaguars to a division title and to an epic come-from-behind wild-card playoff victory. The Jaguars then were 8-3 heading into Week 13 of the 2023 campaign but ultimately suffered a shocking collapse that continued through this past weekend. 

In total, Jacksonville went 5-18 over its final 23 games under Pederson as Lawrence noticeably regressed before his latest injury setbacks. Earlier this week, former NFL running back and two-time Super Bowl champion LeSean McCoy seemed to blame Lawrence for Pederson losing his job.

“If you asked any of us going into the season,” Lawrence added on Thursday, “no one would’ve thought coach Pederson would’ve been fired at the end of the year. And you just see the way the year went, and it’s just disappointing. I think it’s a weird feeling but you do understand it’s part of the business. You have to continue to get better, and for whatever reason this year we didn’t do that. … I think there’s a lot of things in play regarding that, and it’s not just all on one person.”

Lawrence signed a five-year contract extension worth up to $275M last offseason, so he should have some say in the Jaguars’ search for Pederson’s replacement. Recent stories have linked Jacksonville with big-name candidates such as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, as it’s believed such coaches think they can turn Lawrence into an elite signal-caller. 

At some point, Lawrence will have to start proving such believers right beyond occasional winning streaks to be worth the money he received in June 2024. If he doesn’t, he could become one of the biggest “what went wrong?” stories in NFL history, considering all that was said about him before the 2021 draft.